Monday, 9 November 2009

Stuck In The Land Of Rib

Hi!

I haven't posted in a while because of this:

Another sweater for the bf. This one is take 3, the final one. The other two I made, he said were fine, but then it turned out the ribbing pulled in too much, and it felt too tight, and the arms were too tight, and the armholes were too small, so he didn't wear them. Being a complete glutton for punishment, I decided to try make him another one. This time out of DK yarn, not fingering/4 ply!!! But it's still taking forever!! K2, P2 rib has to be the most boring pattern on the planet if you're making a full sweater out of it.

I'm using the raglan pattern from Ann Budd's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns, but I'm making a few changes this time. I'm using the 6sts per inch count for the body of the sweater, but the 7sts per inch count for the arms, since they seemed to be too small width-wise the last couple of times. It means I'll need to do a bit of number fudging when I get to the yoke of the sweater (it's knit from the bottom up), but I'm sure it won't be too hard. I'm using Teddy Vanguard DK with 3.25mm needles. I like the tighter fabric the smaller needles makes with ribbing.

The body of the sweater was actually not too bad to knit. Even though it was K2, P2 ribbing, I could feel which stitch was coming next so I could knit and watch movies or something. Now I'm on the sleeve though, and I have to mark off every round so that I can increase every 8 rounds, and oh my god, it's boring! My mind has to be focused on some level where I am in the round, and where I am in the number of rounds, and it's so tedious. Luckily I'm not one of those people who can hide it very well when I'm bored - usually people find out because I'm yelling OH MY GOD, I'M SO BOOORRRREEEDDD! at them ;) So the bf isn't expecting it to be finished tomorrow or anything. Just as well!

When I get too bored, I've been making small projects, so I can start and finish something quickly, and it distracts me. I've made these two skulls:

This pattern crochets up so quickly and is so much fun to make! I'm going to sew mine onto something, but I'm not sure what yet. I was going to sew the white one onto my denim jacket, but it turns out I put that into the charity shop a while ago, and simply forgot that I had done so, so I'll need to find something else to sew it onto.

I also made this choker (I haven't sewn the buttons on yet, but I have blocked it - a minor miracle for me!):

Pattern: Zigzag Choker by clarabelle This is a very lovely pattern, quick to knit up and very pretty. I made mine from red cotton that I had in my stash, but I don't know what brand it is.

I also finished a bunch of gloves and mittens, but I'll write about them later. I just wanted to get this post up, and get back to blogging. And to have something to do besides that ___ sweater. Never again, I tell you, never again!!

Good luck with the ribbed sweater. It's much more nerve-wracking to knit for an adult who's no longer growing. Things for babies and children can be made on the big side and eventually will fit. Do let us know how you get on! Love the skulls!